Increasingly, energy producers are looking for alternative and clean sources of energy. Fossil fuels have numerous drawbacks. There is a limited total amount of fossil fuel available. Sources of fossil fuels are often in volatile geographic locations which affects pricing and availability. Also, fuels produce pollution which has been linked to health issues and climate change. One way to address these problems is to use clean technologies, such as wind power.
Wind turbines can be used to generate power with no fuel cost. Wind energy is clean and renewable and does not produce any harmful gases like CO2 and nitrogen oxides. Furthermore, wind turbines can be used in remote areas not served by the central power grid such as rural areas and developing countries.
However, current wind turbine technology has some disadvantages. Wind turbine farms generally require particular locations. So although some amount of wind exists nearly everywhere, current wind turbine technology does not make every location practical for wind turbine power production. Also, an average wind turbine only produces electricity for 35% of the day. This is partially due to the fact that current wind turbines require optimal wind speeds to be productive. Even small wind turbines may require winds of at least 9 miles per hour before they can be effectively run. Conversely, when winds are too strong, even large commercial wind turbines cannot be run. Many wind turbines are shut down when wind speeds exceed 45 miles per hour. Thus, using current wind turbine technology, wind farms are only practical in specific locations that have a steady supply of “optimal” winds. Some large turbines produce their maximum power at wind speeds around 33 miles per hour.
It would be advantageous to provide a mechanism and method for increasing the range of optimal wind performance for already existing wind turbines. For example, it would be advantageous to provide a mechanism and method for low speed wind turbines to be effective at even lower wind speeds. Similarly, it would be advantageous to provide a mechanism and method for high speed wind turbines to be effective at even higher wind speeds. If wind turbines were provided with mechanisms for running at lower or higher speeds, then they could run for more than 35% of the day, and thus be capable of producing more electric energy.
Also, it would be advantageous to provide a mechanism and method that allows new wind turbines to be built in places that have previously been deemed too inefficient for wind turbines. For example, if wind turbines were provided with a mechanism that increases their range of performance in high winds, then extremely windy areas previously deemed undesirable locations for wind farms, could be used. Similarly, if wind turbines were provided with a mechanism that increases their range of performance in low winds, then areas previously deemed not windy enough to be undesirable locations for wind farms could also be used.
It would also be advantageous to provide a mechanism and method for increasing the maximum energy producing capacity of a wind turbine. It would be advantageous to provide a mechanism and method for making wind turbines reach maximum energy producing capacity at lower wind speeds. For example, wind turbines that reach maximum power at wind speeds of 25 miles per hour, rather than 33 miles per hour, would produce maximum power a larger percentage of their operation time.